Vitalik Says Ethereum Foundation Is Not the Center of Ethereum

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined a major philosophical shift for the Ethereum Foundation. He argues that the organization should no longer be viewed as the center of Ethereum. Instead, he described the Foundation as “one node, with a defined purpose, alongside other nodes” in a broader decentralized ecosystem.

Some of my perspective on where the @ethereumfndn is going.

First of all, this is only my own view. The board is not just me, and I have no extra special powers on the board that the other board members do not. @aerugoettinea is the one executing much of this transition. My…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 24, 2026

The statement came in a lengthy post addressing growing debate around Ethereum governance, decentralization, and the Ethereum Foundation’s future role. The comments quickly became one of the biggest pieces of Ethereum news today. Especially as the network faces increasing competition from faster Layer-1 chains.

According to Buterin, the Foundation will become leaner, more focused, and more opinionated about long-term priorities. Those priorities center around what he called the “CROPS” principles: censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security.

Ethereum Foundation Shifts Toward Longevity

In his post, Buterin emphasized that the Ethereum Foundation was never meant to function as a permanent governing authority for it. He revealed that the Foundation currently holds only around 0.16% of the total ETH supply. That is significantly lower than many rival blockchain foundations, which often control between 10% and 50% of token supply.

The transition also comes with several major strategic changes inside the Ethereum Foundation: 

• Reduced ETH selling to prioritize long-term sustainability
• Stronger focus on privacy, censorship resistance, and security
• More independence for external developers and ecosystem teams
• Less emphasis on chasing maximum TPS numbers
• Greater investment in AI-assisted verification and protocol resilience

Buterin also stated that the Foundation plans to “sell less ETH” moving forward. That decision aims to preserve resources and ensure the organization can survive long term. Rather than expanding its scope indefinitely. The broader transition reflects what Buterin described as a move toward “longevity over breadth.”

Vitalik Rejects the “Fastest Chain Wins” Narrative

A major part of the discussion focused on Ethereum’s future technical direction. While many competing networks market ultra-fast throughput and massive TPS numbers, Buterin argued that Ethereum should avoid chasing speed alone. Instead, he wants Ethereum to become “deeply impressive” in areas that strengthen decentralization and trust minimization.

That includes AI-assisted formal verification for bug-free smart contracts and stronger consensus resilience. Additionally, reducing dependence on intermediaries through upgrades like FOCIL and EIP-8141. According to Vitalik Buterin news circulating after the post, he believes Ethereum’s strength comes from being difficult to capture or manipulate. Rather than simply being the fastest blockchain. He also stressed that Ethereum should support independent builders rather than centralizing influence inside the Foundation itself.

What This Means for Developers

For developers, the shift could create more room for independent innovation across the Ethereum ecosystem. Builders may no longer rely as heavily on Foundation grants or centralized direction. Instead, external teams and public goods organizations could play a bigger role in shaping Ethereum’s future. At the same time, Ethereum’s growing focus on privacy infrastructure, cryptography, and formal verification could increase demand for specialized technical talent. That may push more developers toward security-focused tooling, decentralized infrastructure, and advanced cryptographic systems.

What This Means for Investors

For investors, the update carries both bullish and cautious signals. On one side, reduced ETH selling pressure from the Foundation could support long-term supply dynamics. The renewed focus on decentralization may also strengthen it’s positioning as a resilient digital asset. However, some traders could interpret a “smaller” Ethereum Foundation as a slowdown in execution speed compared with aggressive competitors.

Still, many analysts view the transition as a sign of ecosystem maturity rather than weakness. The latest Ethereum news today suggests Buterin wants Ethereum to evolve into a network sustained by many independent actors instead of one dominant institution. As Ethereum enters its next phase, the Foundation appears determined to become smaller, more specialized, and more durable for the long run.